Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Scott Maben

This individual is no longer an employee with The Spokesman-Review.

All Stories

News >  Spokane

Wire thefts are risky, costly and persistent

Thieves are creeping down country roads at night cutting copper wire from power poles to sell on the scrap market, leaving hazards for line crews, headaches for utility managers and higher electricity bills for customers. The larceny is nothing new, but it persists even after metal prices have dropped this year. The risk some take to steal the highly conductive, recyclable metal is, well, shocking.
News >  Idaho

Ski areas plan upgrades, expansions

Skiers and snowboarders will find some new lifts and runs as well as some lodge improvements at the five Inland Northwest ski areas this winter. Highlights include lift upgrades at the bunny hills at both Schweitzer Mountain Resort and Lookout Pass; a lodge expansion at Mt. Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park; a new lift and runs at 49 Degrees North Mountain Resort; and a new run at Silver Mountain Resort.
News >  Pacific NW

New lifts and runs await skiers and snowboarders

Skiers and snowboarders will find some new lifts and runs as well as some lodge improvements at the five Inland Northwest ski areas this winter. Highlights include lift upgrades at the bunny hills at both Schweitzer Mountain Resort and Lookout Pass; a lodge expansion at Mt. Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park; a new lift and runs at 49 Degrees North Mountain Resort; and a new run at Silver Mountain Resort.

News >  Spokane

Makeover begins at McEuen Field

An overlooked park in the heart of Coeur d’Alene will be transformed into a recreational showcase over the next 14 months. In the city’s most expensive park project ever, McEuen Field between downtown and Tubbs Hill will be remade to give visitors a greater variety of amenities and improve downtown’s link to the waterfront.
A&E >  Food

Peak steps up service at Snakepit

Joe Peak is still running the Enaville Resort – the Snakepit, as locals know it – along the Coeur d’Alene River north of Kellogg. As he’s battled cancer and mourned the death of his wife earlier this year, the 66-year-old owner found a way to bring the legendary Silver Valley restaurant and bar back to a five-day-a-week operation this summer.
News >  Spokane

Inmates take easy way out

ST. MARIES – A sign behind the front desk of the Benewah County Sheriff’s Office wryly cautions visitors: “No whining, crying, outright blubbering or the likes thereof … whatsoever! This is a respectable jail.” It says nothing about breaking out, but the county is looking to discourage that behavior as well after a series of escapes through a deteriorating brick wall.
News >  Idaho

Finding work in ‘restructured’ post-recession economy difficult

More than 15,000 jobs were lost in Spokane and Kootenai counties when the housing bubble burst in 2008, and most of those haven’t come back. Labor market economists say jobs are being created, albeit slowly. But in both counties, economists say the jobs being created are mostly the right kind.
News >  Spokane

Honing skills early

Since she was in second grade, Krissy McCaughan has dreamed of becoming a nurse. Grant Conery has long wanted to be a pilot and is exploring career opportunities in engineering.
News >  Spokane

Schools measures passing

A $32.7 million bond measure to renovate some of the oldest schools in the Coeur d’Alene School District was embraced by voters Tuesday night. The measure, which requires a two-thirds supermajority to pass, received 71 percent yes votes.
News >  Spokane

An exhilarating experience on high-wire thrill rides

WALLACE – Ted Wentz came flying down the third zip line – a steep, 1,025-foot-long ride – in 20 seconds flat, a big smile frozen on his face. “That was a kick in the butt,” the retired electrician from Otis Orchards said after landing on the wooden platform.
News >  Spokane

$2.8 million North Idaho ice arena opens to public

A mix of teenage hockey players, budding figure skaters and wobbly tykes on blades hit the freshly resurfaced ice Tuesday afternoon for the first public skate at Frontier Ice Arena in Coeur d’Alene. The $2.8 million arena, owned and operated by the nonprofit Kootenai Youth Recreation Organization, replaces one demolished four winters ago under the weight of heavy snow.
News >  Idaho

Man dies in fall from gondola

KELLOGG – A Colorado man riding in a gondola during the weekend’s Brewsfest at Silver Mountain Resort apparently fell to his death, authorities said Monday. Dylan T. Crosby, 26, reportedly had climbed out a small side window of the gondola car he was in despite being warned repeatedly by a companion to get back inside, according to the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office.
News >  Spokane

CdA ballpark backers get boost from Brett

They call it the Field of Dreams, but backers of a proposed $2.7 million ballpark in east Coeur d’Alene hope to move it closer to reality in the next year. On Tuesday they pitched the concept to the city’s Parks Commission with an endorsement from Bobby Brett, owner of the Spokane Indians and Spokane Chiefs.
News >  Spokane

Parasailing business gives bird’s-eye view of Lake CdA

Coeur d’Alene Parasail and Watersports rents paddle boats, aqua cycles and kayaks by the hour. But it’s the brightly colored parachutes coasting around the north shore of Lake Coeur d’Alene that bring in customers each summer. “Our billboard is the chute, so when our chute’s up, that’s our key advertising,” said Jamin Rodriguez, who bought the operation with his family in 2003. He was just 18, but Rodriguez was confident he could run the businesses, with the help of his parents, brother and other family members.
News >  Features

Women find friends, fun and bruises in roller derby

The thumping riff of “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes blasts over the sound system, and fans know what’s coming. The Venomous Vixens take to the concrete track, their theme song pumping up the crowd of several hundred inside a steel-frame building at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds.
News >  Spokane

CdA to take advantage of natural weed-eaters

Coeur d’Alene got its goats, and the city isn’t the least bit annoyed by it. City water officials long have wanted to use goats to mow down weeds at municipal well sites, but a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule prohibits livestock at such sources of drinking water.
News >  Idaho

Coeur d’Alene to unleash goats on weedy well sites

Coeur d’Alene got its goats, and the city isn’t the least bit annoyed by it. City water officials long have wanted to use goats to mow down weeds at municipal well sites, but a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule prohibits livestock at such sources of drinking water.
News >  Spokane

CdA board ends IB program

A controversial advanced learning program for high school students will be pulled from the Coeur d’Alene School District. The school board voted 4-0 Monday night to end the district’s affiliation with International Baccalaureate, an optional course of rigorous study intended to give students a deeper understanding of world affairs and help them prepare for college.
News >  Spokane

CdA seeks school renovations

Some of the oldest, most outdated schools in Coeur d’Alene will be renovated over the next three years if voters in the Coeur d’Alene School District approve a $32.7 million bond measure this month. It’s one of three school measures on the Aug. 28 ballot in Kootenai County. Lakeland Joint School District is seeking voter approval of a five-year maintenance levy, and Kootenai Joint School District is proposing a $2 million bond measure to upgrade its wastewater system.
News >  Idaho

I-90 interchange awaited near state line

A new interchange scheduled to open this year on Interstate 90 near the Idaho-Washington border could revive commercial development around Cabela’s starting next year. The outdoor recreation megastore has been something of a lone wolf since it opened in 2007, with only Wal-Mart moving into its territory in 2010.
News >  Spokane

Mini Sturgis at Stateline raises money for charity

The Harleys and Triumphs and Hondas began thundering into Cruiser’s late Thursday afternoon, and within a few hours the party was on. It’s Mini Sturgis, the Stateline biker bar’s eighth annual motorcycle rally and benefit for abused children.